


A Few Kind Words

by zoe19blink



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:13:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22750798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoe19blink/pseuds/zoe19blink
Summary: Hook spends his evenings at the diner and happens upon a distressed Ariel. It's hardly in his nature, but he tries to offer some comfort.Quite silly, but requested by my sister. Based on this gif set: https://zoe19blink.tumblr.com/post/172740913770/hookriel-incorrect-quotes
Relationships: Ariel/Captain Hook | Killian Jones
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	A Few Kind Words

The diner was an interesting place. Far more interesting than Hook would have ever hoped, as every other aspect of Storybrooke was impossible dull: there were no monsters to fight; no tyrants to thwart; not even the odd duel to pass the time, as both swords and pistols were outlawed. Yes, indeed….the obsession with the law here was particularly annoying. All he had left to was drink and small talk.

Which was why he found himself haunting the diner so often, and as such, he began to notice certain things. The dartboard, for instance, always seemed to attract the ex-outlaws, who liked to get drunk and reminisce about the glory days over a game. The old women who’d once called themselves midwives and healers often clustered at a table with pints of beer, grumbling and exchanging juicy gossip—loudly enough that if Hook stood quite still, he could catch most of it.

However, the certain thing that he noticed above all others was the petite redhead, who sat at the other end of the counter. Sometimes she brought a book; sometimes she watched the television; sometimes she babbled to herself as she scribbled in a journal. A strange girl, Hook decided, but from what he remembered,Ariel had always been a little strange.

Tonight, her eyes were fixed on the screen, her chin propped up in both hands. A thin black line streaked her face and there were tears glistening in her eyes. Hook frowned. What could have the girl so upset?

She began to sniff; then her lip trembled; and then she made a pitiful little sound and dropped her head, crying. Hook glanced around to see if anyone was going to offer her comfort, but no one was paying attention.“Bloody hell,” he grimaced. It was hardly in his nature, but there he was, walking over and trying to think of what to say.

She turned her head at the sound of his approaching boots and looked over, her eyes wide with distress and confusion. Hook offered her a smile as he took the seat beside her.

“All right there, love?” he asked as gently as he could. “You look in need of a few kind words.”

“Oh.” Ariel sniffed, and tried to smile, shrugging. “I-I’m fine. It’s just—” she bit her lip and shook her head—“it’s just that damn commercial.”

Hook’s smile faded. “It’s what now?”

“Look!” Ariel gestured helplessly at the screen, where a Twix advertisement was running. It was silly, really: two feuding factories exactly, with one making “Right” Twix and the other making “Left”. Hook raised an eyebrow, and looked back at Ariel.

“You’re crying over a Twix commercial?” he said dryly.

She shot him a glare. “Yes!” she snapped. “ _Yes, I am!”_

Hook stared at her. “It’s a _candy bar_.”

“It’s not fair!” Ariel insisted. “I don’t understand why they have to fight! Why can’t Left and Right Twix be together?”

“Right.” Hook rolled his eyes, scoffing in derision. “It’s like Romeo and Juliet all over again.”

Ariel knit her brow. “Like who?”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” he dismissed, waving his hand. “Just some famous story in this world.”

Ariel waited for him to explain, her eyes fixed on him worriedly. Hook sighed.

“Short version is, two young lovers from feuding families want to be together. Couple of duels go wrong, people die, so the two end up running away. And then…” He hesitated, chancing a glance at Ariel’s anxious face.

“It’s sad, isn’t it?” she whispered, already tearing up.

“Aye, love, you might find it a bit sad.” Hook cleared his throat and went on as somberly as he could manage: “There’s a whole mess of confusion and a priest gets involved—don’t remember why—and Juliet decides to fake her death without telling Romeo, which ends about as well as you’d think. Poor bloke kills himself; Juliet wakes up with him dead at her feet and kills _her_ self—end scene.”

Ariel gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth, the tears flowing freely from her eyes. “They both _die?”_ she choked. “F-for love?”

“Well, that’s one way to look at it,” Hook shrugged.

Ariel pressed both hands to her heart, shaking her head. “It’s so tragic,” she whispered. “So beautifully tragic.”

Hook frowned. _Beautifully?_

“Oh, tell me another!” Ariel begged, suddenly clutching his arm. “Something that’s going to make me really sob!”

“What are you on about, woman?” Hook said, staring at her with wide eyes. “You _want_ to be sad?”

“I love stories that make me cry,” Ariel sighed, smiling despite the tears clinging to her lashes. “Please, Hook. Tell me another tragic love story.”

“I-I don’t really know a lot of other stories…” Hook trailed off, realizing that his words were falling on deaf ears. Ariel held onto his arm, silently urging him on, waiting for him to devastate her with another tragic tale.

Hook exhaled in defeat. “All right. There was once a selkie, who ventured too close to the village…”


End file.
